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INTJpersonality|16Personalities
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INTJ PERSONALITY
It's lonely at the top, and being one of the rarest and most strategically capable personality types, INTJs know this all too well.
INTJs form just two percent of the population, and women of this personality type are especially rare, forming just 0.8% of
the population - it is often a challenge for them to find like-minded individuals who are able to keep up with their relentless
intellectualism and chess-like maneuvering. People with the INTJ personality type are imaginative yet decisive, ambitious yet
private, amazingly curious, but they do not squander their energy.

NOTHING CAN STOP THE RIGHT ATTITUDE FROM ACHIEVING ITS GOAL
With a natural thirst for knowledge that shows itself early in life, INTJs are often given
the title of "bookworm" as children. While this may be intended as an insult by their
peers, they more than likely identify with it and are even proud of it, greatly enjoying
their broad and deep body of knowledge. INTJs enjoy sharing what they know as well,
confident in their mastery of their chosen subjects, but owing to their Intuitive (N)
and Judging (J) traits, they prefer to design and execute a brilliant plan within their
field rather than share opinions on "uninteresting" distractions like gossip.
"You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant."
Harlan Ellison

A paradox to most observers, INTJs are able to live by glaring contradictions that nonetheless make perfect sense - at least
from a purely rational perspective. For example, INTJs are simultaneously the most starry-eyed idealists and the bitterest of
cynics, a seemingly impossible conflict. But this is because INTJ types tend to believe that with effort, intelligence and
consideration, nothing is impossible, while at the same time they believe that people are too lazy, short-sighted or selfserving to actually achieve those fantastic results. Yet that cynical view of reality is unlikely to stop an interested INTJ from
achieving a result they believe to be relevant.

IN MATTERS OF PRINCIPLE, STAND LIKE A ROCK

INTJs radiate self-confidence and an aura of mystery, and their insightful observations, original ideas and formidable logic
enable them to push change through with sheer willpower and force of personality. At times it will seem that INTJs are bent
on deconstructing and rebuilding every idea and system they come into contact with, employing a sense of perfectionism
and even morality to this work. Anyone who doesn't have the talent to keep up with INTJs' processes, or worse yet, doesn't
see the point of them, is likely to immediately and permanently lose their respect.

Rules, limitations and traditions are anathema to the INTJ personality type - everything should be open to questioning
and reevaluation, and if they see a way, INTJs will often act unilaterally to enact their technically superior, sometimes
insensitive, and almost always unorthodox methods and ideas.

This isn't to be misunderstood as impulsiveness - INTJs will strive to remain rational no matter how attractive the end goal
may be, and every idea, whether generated internally or soaked in from the outside world, must pass the ruthless and everpresent "Is this going to work?" filter. This mechanism is applied at all times, to all things and all people, and this is often
where INTJ personality types run into trouble.

ONE REFLECTS MORE WHEN TRAVELING ALONE

INTJs are brilliant and confident in bodies of knowledge they have taken the time to understand, but unfortunately the social
contract is unlikely to be one of those subjects. White lies and small talk are hard enough as it is for a type that craves truth
and depth, but INTJs may go so far as to see many social conventions as downright stupid. Ironically, it is often best for them
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23/12/2014

INTJpersonality|16Personalities

to remain where they are comfortable - out of the spotlight - where the natural confidence prevalent in INTJs as they work
with the familiar can serve as its own beacon, attracting people, romantically or otherwise, of similar temperament and
interests.
INTJs are defined by their tendency to move through life as though it were a giant chess board, pieces constantly shifting
with consideration and intelligence, always assessing new tactics, strategies and contingency plans, constantly
outmaneuvering their peers in order to maintain control of a situation while maximizing their freedom to move about. This
isn't meant to suggest that INTJs act without conscience, but to many Feeling (F) types, INTJs' distaste for acting on emotion
can make it seem that way, and it explains why many fictional villains (and misunderstood heroes) are modeled on this
personality type.
Famous INTJs:
Vladimir Putin

Paul Krugman

Thomas Jefferson

Rudy Giuliani

John F. Kennedy

Donald Rumsfeld

Woodrow Wilson

Colin Powell

Augustus Caesar

Samantha Power

Lance Armstrong

Richard Gere

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Hannibal

Fictional INTJs:
"Walter White" ("Heisenberg") from Breaking Bad

"Gandalf the Grey" from The Lord of the Rings

"Hannibal" and "Clarice Starling" from Silence of the Lambs

"Katniss Everdeen" from The Hunger Games

"Professor Moriarty," Sherlock Holmes' enemy

"Gregory House" from House M.D.

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES (/INTJ-STRENGTHS-AND-WEAKNESSES)

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